The women’s volleyball team made its way back to Kellogg Arena after weeks of travel, to take on the No. 1 team in the nation, the Coyotes from Cal State San Bernardino.
The Coyotes dominated the first set and the ending score was 25-10.
Although the Coyotes took the second set as well, the Broncos scored 20 points while the Coyotes took the set at 25 points.
The Coyotes were ahead in sets, 2-0, but it wasn’t over for the Broncos. As close as they were in the second set, the Broncos were still in the match.
During the third set, the Broncos fought back as hard as they could but it was the Coyotes who took the last set, 25-19.
Toward the end of the set, there was a mix-up in rotation that delayed the match and a point was given to the Coyotes against the Broncos.
Suddenly the match was 24-19 with a Coyotes advantage. As the delay set off momentum for both teams, the Coyotes took the match and swept the Broncos 3-0.
The leaderboard for the Broncos ended with freshman outside hitter Jazminn Parrish and freshman opposite hitter Daisy Duke with six kills.
Junior defensive specialist Brynn Sherbert ended the night with nine digs as she battled to keep the Broncos in the game.
“We were working really hard as a team but I felt like we could have pushed a little more and had a little more fight,” Sherbert said. “We definitely came out ready to play and we’re going to get ready for the next two games this weekend.”
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Senior setter Kaitlin Powell had seven assists that helped the Broncos stay in the game.
“I would definitely say the competition was high. Playing against the number one team in the nation does have its pros and cons and the pros is that we’re really prepared for our competition coming up this weekend,” Powell said.
“It is going to help us really know what we have to push towards this weekend against (Cal State) L.A. and Dominguez Hills.”
Although they suffered a loss, there were some positive words to say about the Broncos’ performance.
“I think we passed an OK ball tonight. Our serving and passing was pretty good,” head coach Traci Dahl said. “You just can’t make the mistakes that we made against a team like San Bernardino. They force you to make errors that we maybe wouldn’t typically make. I thought there was some really bright spots in the match. Some players were in the game tonight that showed some promise. We just couldn’t get into an offensive flow.”
Dahl also had some words about the end of the match.
“There was a lot going on because we weren’t out of rotation. Maybe we were, but I’m pretty sure we weren’t (out of rotation) and it’s just unfortunate that that had to happen because it causes major distraction and you know we’re creeping up in the score and this situation happens.”
After Tuesday night’s game, the Broncos got ready to take on the Golden Eagles from Cal State L.A. back at Kellogg Arena. After winning the first set, the Broncos lost momentum.
The Broncos fell short and lost 1-3 in sets. Junior middle blocker Ally Wilder led the team with 11 kills and Sherbert recorded a team best of 16 digs during Friday’s match.
On Saturday, the Broncos fell 3-1 to the Toros of Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The Broncos fell in the first set, 25-23 before taking the second set, 25-16.
The Toros took the victory by defeating the Broncos 25-17 in the third set and 25-21 in the fourth set.
Wilder lead the team with 14 kills, while Parrish was right behind her with 10.
This week the Broncos will compete at Kellogg Arena again. They will take on UC San Diego at 7 p.m. Friday and Cal State San Marcos at 5 p.m. Saturday.